A Secretary's Trip to Mayonaka Arena
by SKGB39
Summary: Now officially an AU. Based off the events of Persona 4 Arena. The story follows OC Saiyaka Ushiromiya as she goes into the TV world after hearing the rumors about the Midnight Channel, even though she wasn't personally invited. Pairings: HEAVILY implied KanjixNaoto and mostly one-sided OCxKanji. Update: Chapter 5 available!
1. Prologue

Persona 4 Arena: Saiyaka's Story.

_**A/N: I got inspired to write this from playing Persona 4 Arena again after a 2-month hiatus from the game. As well as Miss Hanamura's story"Persona 4: Return of the Midnight Channel." (Which is AWESOME btw, if you haven't checked it out I highly advise you should. ;) Although I had an OC for Persona in mind ever since I started getting into it.**_

_**Anyway, the story is based off of the events of Persona 4: Arena, but instead my OC Saiyaka Ushiromiya joins in on the case, but not for the Investigation Team's sake…**_

**WARNINGS: Story contains suggestive themes and language, violence, spoilers for Persona 4, and is OC-centric. Read at your own risk.** **Anyway, let's get started!**

* * *

_**Prologue: **_** Yasogami High, Evening; Student Council Room.**

I sit at my desk in the student council room pecking away at my laptop and shuffling papers around into their right folders.

"*sigh* Why am I always left doing the filing? And right when Golden Week started, too."

I stop typing for a moment to take a sip of my tea.

I'm Saiyaka Ushiromiya, sometimes called Sayo or Sai-chan by others. I'm a third-year student here at Yasogami High, which is located in a small town called Inaba. I'm also the secretary for the student council. My job is never easy seeing as how the president always makes me do all the hard work. But that's not to say my job completely sucks, I do get firsthand knowledge on certain info and gossip. Heeheehee

"Saiyaka-saaaaannnnn!" I look up from my cup of tea, I see that the voice belonged to first-year student Daisuke Ryuugu. He frantically runs to my desk and leans on it, completely out of breath.

Daisuke is my quirky assistant so to speak. He pretty much does whatever I tell him to…. You could say its blackmail, but I don't think I want to elaborate on that. He helped me in my endeavor to make the Investigation Team's lives as miserable as possible last year.

"Daisuke, why are you still here? Shouldn't you be gone enjoying Golden Week by now?"

"*huff* *huff* B- but there's important news I have for you!"

My face lights up a bit and I graciously put down my cup and folded my hands onto the table, placing my chin upon them. I'm a total sucker for gossip and bad rumors.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Daisuke finally caught his breath; his face looks rather glum….

"T- The Midnight Channel might be back…." His tone made it sound like he was absolutely sure.

I gasped, blinking as my mouth left open agape. An uneasy feeling started to crawl up my spine.

"What? Are you sure?" My eyes narrowed and my eyebrows sank as I spoke. My face looked sad a little frightened, but my tone was still rather calm.

Last year, a series of tragic murders that involved people being thrown into TV's occurred here. Before dying, they showed on a channel called the Midnight Channel, which only showed up on turned off televisions while it was raining at midnight. To say the town was a little shaken by it would be a complete understatement.

However, the case was solved by an uncanny group of students here at our school who called themselves the "Investigation Team." To be honest, last year I gave them hell. Stalking them, continuously calling them trouble makers, and not to mention giving them many, many citations.

However I did eventually get over my un-warranted hatred for them, even to the point of fighting together with them a few times in the TV world with my Persona Celeste. Not to mention falling in….. oh no, I'm babbling a little too much.

Anyway, the leader of the whole brigade was Yu Narukami. He moved here last year to stay here with relatives, thus transferring here to Yasogami. Everyone seemed to like him and loved being around him, except for me of course. "Hating his guts" doesn't even describe how badly I disliked him at first. I mean he could freaking do EVERYTHING! It really annoyed me, but I learned to get over it and ended up befriending him.

Second in command was none other than Yosuke Hanamura. If I had 100 yen for each time I ended up slapping him for flirting with me, I probably could buyout the Kirijo Group.

The third member was Chie Satonaka. We share an interest in martial arts; I myself am trained in Pi Gua Quan and some Jujutsu. We also share the habit of sometimes lashing out irrationally against others, mainly Yosuke.

After Chie is her best friend Yukiko Amagi. She is the heiress to the Amagi Inn, the main attraction of our small town. Yukiko always seems to carry herself in a very dignified manner, even when she wants to complain or cry. The boys at this school are always bothering her to go out with them. That's to be expected with her amazing grades, fair skin, and great hair. She is prone to extremely long laughing fits.

Following Yukiko is the notorious delinquent Kanji Tatsumi. He's actually one year younger than us. At first glance, he seems like the average punk kid who you don't want to mess with, but once you get to know him, you'll learn he's actually a good person… and a momma's boy.

He also has the hots for that next member of the Team, the Detective Prince Naoto Shirogane. Don't let the title "Prince" fool you, Naoto is actually a girl. She is really an amazing detective, even helping me when I needed help the most. I was rather saddened when I found out she was almost a victim of that damned Adachi.

The group also contained the famous model Rise Kujikawa AKA "Risette" and some… thing that calls itself "Teddie."

Teddie and I are strangely friends, I often went to the TV world myself to look for and comfort it at times. Especially when he went missing after Yu's cousin Nanako supposedly died. I was completely shocked he was actually able to revive her.

"I'm not sure, Saiyaka-san… I just overheard a few students talking about it; one even saying that she saw it not too long ago." Daisuke rubs his chin as if he was thinking about something. His face lights up as he speaks,

"I know, why don't we check for ourselves?! It's supposed to rain tonight anyway."

I pondered a bit before replying to his statement,

"It may be a hoax, but if so many people are claiming to see it, I suppose we don't have a choice. I still have a bit of work to do so I'll be staying here for a bit longer. Feel free to leave if you want."

"Y- yes ma'am!" Daisuke speeds off and exits the building. He knows about the Midnight Channel, but he doesn't know anything about Personas or Shadows.

* * *

_Ushiromiya Residence, Evening._

I quickly finish with what was left to file and headed home. My house was relatively large, but not mind-blowing in size. The décor however, was extremely refined. From the fine plush rugs to the fine silk material of the furniture, the dark wood cabinets filled with fine China, heirlooms, and antique items. I was greeted by our housekeeper, Miyu.

"Good evening milady, do you need me to take your bag?"

"No, but thank you anyway." I flashed her a warm smile, even though smiling was one of the last things on my mind. Miyu only bowed in response as I made my way past her, going up the steps and into my room.

_Saiyaka's Room._

I pretty much stayed in my room all day; Miyu came by a few times to bring me snacks. I was just really anxious about the rumors. My room could pretty much be someone's house if I had a refrigerator in here. There was a small table for me to eat snacks and do homework, though I usually blackmailed people into letting me copy the answers, a bathroom in the next room, a Queen-sized bed made with a red satin and gold reversible comforter and a canopy decorated with matching curtains. A window with simple lacy right curtain is accompanied by a poster of the Golden Witch Beatrice.

"Ugh, what a long day…" I had just gotten out of my bathtub and went to sit in front of my vanity, taking out a brush to well… brush my hair. My hair is blonde with curly ends; I usually let them hang over my shoulders. After putting my brush away, I take a good look at myself; my own blue eyes staring at themselves as I recall my encounter with my Shadow and how much I have changed since then.

A smile tugs at my pink lips as I slowly turn away to get dressed into my black night gown decorated with frilly white lace. After that, I took out my laptop and fired up "Ougon Musou Kyoku Cross," a fighting game based off of one of my favorite mystery visual-novel series, "Umineko no Naku Koro ni." I kept the game in windowed mode so I could constantly have a look at the time.

"11:50," I reminded myself as I chose my characters. Shortly after completing the first fight I could hear the rain falling outside. As the sound met my ears, a huge lump formed in my throat.

"What am I going to do if the rumors turn out to be true?"

Just then, my phone went off with a text from Daisuke.

"_It's raining, are you as anxious as I am?"_

I pause my game and reply with, "_I don't think anxious is the word I'd use to describe how I feel right now."_

My phone goes off again, _"What if another series of murders begin to happen again?"_

I read the message and felt my eyes getting watery, with no kind of reply in my mind; I look at the time on my computer.

"11:58… just two more minutes." I really didn't want the Midnight Channel to return and I'm really hoping it's a hoax. I don't think I could deal with another wave of panic among the student body like last year. Not to mention the Investigation Team doesn't have its two strongest detectives here now, Naoto and Yu.

"11:59…" I calmed myself as my eyes met my blank television.

The color almost instantly drained from my face as static appeared on the television accompanied with a voice.

"Rivals… they are… FRIENDS! Yet powerful foes!" The screen then shows 6 panels, each one containing a member of the Investigation Team.

"The desperate fighting program amongst high school students! A new legend is about to start!"

The screen now displays a WWE-type labeled "P-1." There are fireworks, confetti and a full crowd of people that are cheering.

Another voice begins to speak, "May the manliest of all men…" My mouth fell at the sight and sound of Teddie wearing some ridiculous get-up appearing on screen, "COME ON DOWN!"

The regular announcer returns met with a silhouette of a person and a katana shining in the light, "Nobody touches his precious Nanako! The Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel, Yu Narukami!"

The title itself was rather funny, not to mention the ridiculous pose they had him do. It lightened my mood up a bit, but not as much as Yu saying, "It's only natural!" I'll admit, I giggled a little.

The next silhouette with a pair of kunai daggers, "Wage slave in the boonies by day, hero by night! Captain Ressentiment, Yoskuke Hanamura!" Like with Yu, Yosuke appeared alongside his Persona with some ridiculous pose.

"Everything that bores me has gotta go!"

Another silhouette was accompanied with a pair of shoes, "A spunky dragon with deadly legs, The Carnivore that's Discarded Womanhood, Chie Satonaka!" Another silly pose from Chie,

"You need to eat more meat!" I'm having a hard time concealing my laughter as the video goes on.

The next silhouette appears, this one is holding an umbrella and the weapon is a fan.

"Please escort me to the ring, my prince! The Unconquerable Snow Black, Yukiko Amagi!"

"I'll finish you in one strike!"

The next contestant stopped my subtle giggling and I started blushing a bit as I saw could clearly see that it was Kanji.

"Blooming roses and bulging muscles! The Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor, Kanji Tatsumi!" My temporarily suppressed giggling had evolved into all out laughter as I saw the way he posed with the chair.

"Deep in the realms of romance!"

The last contestant had to be Naoto since the weapon was her gun.

"The body of a child- the brain of a genius! The 2000-IQ Killjoy Detective, Naoto Shirogane!" Well, at least her pose wasn't as hilarious as the others.

"Is this an army of idiots?" Scratch that, her quote takes the cake!

"Fight, and survive towards the one throne waiting at the end!" The TV displayed the contestants one by one before panning out to show Teddie at the top of a flight of steps,

"The P-1 Grand Prix where fierce fights will be fought! The battle begins tonight!" The logo of the Grand Prix should up one last time before exploding into flames.

The television had a fit of static before reverting back to the blank screen it once was. The moment it did, my phone went off with another text from my loyal first-year servant,

"_Omg, it turned out to be true! Not to mention unlike with the other times, this broadcast was extremely clear."_

I hadn't even noticed how clear the picture was, but I replied pretending to know that I did.

"_Yeah it was, but another thing that bothers me is why would anyone want to make the Investigation Team beat up on each other? The only person to my knowledge who would hold that kind of grudge is Adachi, but he's locked firmly away."_

My phone quickly beeped with another text,

"_I know… it's so weird. We have no basis on which we could investigate either."_

Daisuke was wrong in this, however since he doesn't know about the TV world, it's understandable for him to think that. That eerie feeling I had before the program is starting to come back to me. It was rather funny at first, but the realization that the horrid Midnight Channel is back just makes me feel bad for laughing at some of the parts.

"_I hate to agree with you, but you're right. We already have nothing to go on. __"_

I quickly send him a follow up text saying, "_Oh well, let's not stress ourselves out. We can start thinking of solutions in the morning. Goodnight."_

After sending Daisuke that last text, I start going through my contacts, stopping at Kanji's house. Since he was featured in the video, I figured to call him to let him know the startling news. I call and listen to the phone ring for a bit, hoping for Kanji to pick up, however his mom does and tells me he's already sleeping on the couch.

Sighing, I scroll down until I come across Naoto's number. I know she's out working for Golden Week and I'd hate to disturb her or make her worry, but this is extremely important considering she was in the broadcast. Reluctantly, I press the call button. Naoto picks up shortly afterwards,

"Hello, Sayo-senpai. You normally don't call at this hour, did something happen?"

Her voice was rather calm, almost tranquil. My voice on the other hand was hesitant and a little startled.

"Well… yes something happened…"

I could pretty much hear Naoto's voice change to an uneasy tone as she spoke,

"And what would that be?"

I wanted to just say nothing, that it was a hoax, but I figured it'd be even ruder to prank call her so I told her,

"The Midnight Channel has returned…" I leaned back so the back of my head would meet one of my many pillows. I looked up, towards the ceiling even though I can't see it due to my canopy blocking it from view.

Naoto tries to remain calm while she replies to me,

"Are you sure?"

"I just saw it with my own two eyes."

"What did you see on it?"

"It was some kind of promo for a fighting program… featuring the Investigation Team."

I can vaguely hear Naoto make some sound of frustration over the phone, but I don't question it since it's understandable she'd be angry about it. I felt so bad about bothering her like this, I know she has to be busy with top-secret cases of some sort right now.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you with like this Naoto-kun."

"No, it's quite alright; thank you for sharing this with me. Have you contacted anyone else about this?"

"Well, I tried Kanji, but he was already sleeping by the time I reached him."

"I see, I'll check in on everyone else in the morning. You should probably go to sleep senpai, I know the president has had you working hard today." She chuckles a little bit before we say goodbye and disconnect the line.

I have to do something, and the only clue to finding out who did this is the Midnight Channel itself.

Coming to that realization, I put my phone on charge and open a drawer from my dresser next to my bed, fiddling through to find my rings and charms so I can prepare to enter the TV world tomorrow. After I found them, I put them on top of the dresser for easy access to them in the morning.

* * *

**End Prologue. Okay, so I know typing out the entire video of Midnight Channel's broadcast was a bit much, but I wanted to give Saiyaka's opinions on it throughout the video and I saw that as the best way. Saiyaka's full profile will be in the A/N's section at the beginning of chapter 1. See you then! *Places Bookmark.***


	2. Chapter 1: Into the TV

_Character profile for Saiyaka Ushiromiya: _

_**WARNING: Some of my spells are made up and so are her weapons.**_

_**Update: Due to having a mid-story crisis, I decided to scrap the plot which I originally had in mind, which was going to explain Saiyaka's amnesia and her adoption. So the only thing that really changes is that she now remembers everything about her life and the Ushiromiya's are her birth parents.  
**_

_Saiyaka is a third-year student at Yasogami High and is the secretary of the student council. Saiyaka is quite manipulative and according to some abuses her authority. She is also known to be quite judgmental and harsh towards others before she gets to know them, especially towards the Investigation Team. She is the only daughter to the Ushiromiya family.  
_

_Saiyaka uses the martial art of Pi Gua Quan; incorporating some Jujutsu holds and locks into her style for self defense. Her persona Celeste is only capable of using light-based spells to disorient, attack, and trap foes. Her persona can also use portals of light to allow Saiyaka herself to teleport short distances. Celeste also capable of physical attacks thanks to the spiked gauntlets she wears on her arms. To make up for Celeste's lack of versatility in the elements, Saiyaka uses magical charms and rings to give her attacks elemental effects to them. The downside to this is that she has to be in the TV world for the magic to take affect and that the elements from the charms and rings do not protect her from her weakness of Electricity. She also actually has to be holding the charms for the magic to work, meaning only her hands can have elemental effects to them. (More specific detail on these things later.)_

_**A/N: There's more to be explained about Saiyaka as well. But I won't do so here since it will spoil many important plot points of the story.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Into the T.V.**_

_Ushiromiya Residence; Saiyaka's Room, Morning._

I finally awoke from my sleep with a dainty yawn. I sat up in my bed and glanced to my right, my eyes meeting my magical charms and jewelry which I will be wearing to the T.V. world today. My face grows rather sad as my eyes meet them, knowing what it means when I wear them. I pick up one of my golden flower shaped rings with a lovely purple gem in the middle and place it on my middle finger.

My mind flashes back to what this ring allows me to do… shooting bullets of Darkness at my opponents… with my fingers. I put my middle and index fingers together as if I'm using imaginary guns and fire away. I have two rings so I have one on each hand, I try to fire in the same manner as one of my favorite magical girls from an anime I used to watch when I'm surrounded by multiple enemies. I can also absorb some projectiles by making a vortex from putting both of my hands together as if firing a fireball. I can absorb anything that isn't electric based.

After putting the other ring onto my other hand, I go to my vanity to freshen up a bit. Putting on my favorite headband that's a glittery silver with flower shapes on the ends. The flowers are decorated with white petals and a yellow center piece. After fixing my hair, I put some lip gloss on my lips and put a few cute hair clips in my hair. I also spray myself with a few puffs of my perfume.

What? I like looking good even though I'm probably gonna end up fighting. Content with how my hair and face looks, I go put on my school uniform. I always wear a white sweater over my shirt and white thigh-high socks with my uniform. After that, I grab my charms, one red for fire, one blue for ice, one green for wind, and one yellow for earth. I attach them to a small pouch that I tie around my waist.

The red, blue, and green charms are all mainly used for offense. However, I can use them defensively by using them to cancel out weak spells that are weak to its element, like using the ice to stuff an Agi or the fire to cancel out a Bufu. The wind can't cancel out electricity, but it does extend my reach and allows my attacks to slice foes.

The yellow stone however is used almost exclusively for my defense, as blocking attacks with my bare arms would leave bruises on my somewhat pale skin. Being an earth type, the stone forms itself into a hardened rock-like shield that I can use to block attacks. Physical attacks, unless done with massive force, are generally nullified by this shield. I guess it can be used offensively since I can use it as a charging tool, but with all of my other options for offense that idea just seems impractical.

After grabbing my phone and putting it in the pouch, I walk out of my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I'm greeted by the housekeeper Miyu before I reach the end of the hall,

"Good morning Saiyaka! Heading out early today?"

"Yes, please tell mom and dad about me leaving okay? I'd tell them myself but I do need to leave now and I know they probably are still sleeping."

"Yes, I'll be sure to do so." Miyu bows deeply as I walk past her and down the steps, grabbing my shoes and putting them on before I exit the house.

"Hm, I wonder if Daisuke is awake yet." I take out my phone and scroll through my contacts, finding Daisuke and quickly pressing the call button…

He doesn't answer.

"Oh well guess not." I close my phone, only to quickly open it again to attempt to reach Kanji once more.

His mom answers the phone again and says she hasn't seen Kanji since last night, she states that she thinks he left early in the morning.

"I see, thank you Ms. Tatsumi." I end the call, but I feel somewhat uneasy.

What if the culprit threw him into a television? What if he's being held hostage? My mind starts filling up with worst-case scenarios, but I mentally smack myself to focus as I make my way to the food court for some breakfast. After getting my food I quickly sit down at a table and begin to slowly eat. My mind went back to the Midnight Channel showing up and I recall my trip there for the first time… when I met my Shadow. I remember the devilish smirk on her face like it was yesterday.

* * *

"_Why don't you just give up on this foolish hope? It's clearly obvious he doesn't love you. *laughter*"_

"_He'll just abandon you, just like all of the other possible suitors." She starts to mimic me in a weak voice now, _

"_How dare they diss me when I give them the time of day?! I'll make them pay!"_

"_T- that's not true, he's not like that!"_

"_Oh yeah? Then why wasn't it you he was excited to see in the pageant? Why does he never get flustered around you? Why are you always ignored? Let's not forget that he's not the only one to ignore you."_

"_I- I…."_

"_You just don't know is that right? *laughter*"_

…_._

"_It's because he's clearly in love with Naoto! I mean let's face it; she's everything YOU are not. She's mysterious, calculating, independent, smart, AND has the looks to make him weak in the knees. You on the other hand are weak! You have to manipulate and use others to get what you want. You can't do anything alone! Not even defend your mother from those naughty strangers that day. You even had to rely on Naoto for assistance, even though you truly hate her guts!"_

_I was completely frozen on the floor as she started making her way towards me, she had her hands on her hips as she leaned in, tilting her head so her ear was facing me. It was as if she was waiting for me to say something._

_I looked up to her, my eyes now red from the tears I was so desperately to back. _

"_Yeah- you're right…. I- I do hate Naoto."_

"_What!?" Clearly what I had said was not what she wished to hear judging by her tone._

"_She's everything that I wish I could be… I was always envious of her, always annoyed by how he always seemed to be attracted to her."_

"_Oh please, you think I'm going to fall for your manipulation techniques? *laughter* You can fool the world, but you definitely cannot fool yourself."_

"_Myself…" Something about her saying that causes me to stand up my blue eyes meeting her demon-like yellow, a twisted smirk on her face while a warm smile forms on mine._

"_I was weak, insecure, dependent, scared, and angry at myself… but…" I lift my head up, the tears that were threatening to fall from before were gone._

"_I'm not like that anymore!" My statement seemed to have bothered my Shadow as the smirk that was on her face begins to fade away._

"_What the… how are you… WHY aren't you defying me?!" My Shadows calm demeanor is completely starting to fall apart. Her face contorts to one of absolute anger as she roars loudly, attempting to hit me with a basic palm strike. _

_I easily dodge her attack and grab her arm, as she gasps in confusion and frustration; I twist my body in a way that ends with the both of us falling to the ground, me on top of her while she lies on her stomach. I still have hold of her arm and begin to apply pressure._

_She screams out in agony as she desperately tries to escape, banging on the floor with her free hand._

"_Why? Why is this happening!?" _

"_Because you're me, right? As evil and vindictive I know I can be at times… I know when someone's telling the truth." _

_She looks up at me, her eyes warm now. I release her arm and get up from on top of her; she sits up and looks me straight in the eye._

"_Do you really mean it?"_

_I nod my head in response to her question and bring her into a strong embrace._

"_Thank you, because if it weren't for you I wouldn't have been able to see my weaknesses. I always brushed them aside and tried to act like I had everything in control. When in reality I'm still that weak little girl I was those few years ago…"_

_My eyes start to form with tears, but not any of fear or sadness, but of joy._

_My shadow nods subtly and looks up. Her body begins to get enveloped in some sort of blue light. She stands up and backs away from me, her entire body morphs into a woman wearing extremely revealing clothing like that of a Greek goddess, she has arm bands around the upper parts of her arms. Her hands were covered with gauntlets that were dazzled with spikes. Her hair was extremely long and had a very light golden brown color to it. A small hair tie is located at the end of her hair, I guess to keep it from flowing all over the place._

_The beautiful woman then turns into a card of some sort and floats into my hands. I didn't know what it was, but I embraced it and it became a part of me ever since. I blacked out after that…_

* * *

I stare at the TV that the Investigation Team usually enters through; deciding whether or not this is a good idea.

"Everyone is in danger if nothing is done so…" I press my palm gently against the TV, causing ripples and waves to show up on the screen. Looking to make sure no one was around; I leap into the TV…

**End of Chapter 1. Sorry it was so short and nothing really happened. Chapter 2 will either be up tonight or tomorrow depending on how much I can get done. Until then! *Places Bookmark***


	3. Chapter 2: The Grand Prix begins

_**Chapter 2: The Grand Prix Begins.**_

_**A/N: I don't know if there really is a pool or not at the school, but I'm going to place it on here anyway.**_

The trip down the TV began normally, but then everything started to get distorted.

What on earth is going on?

A flash of light then blinds me as I reach the end of the portal. It swallows me whole and I drop hit the ground with my rear.

_Location: Yasogami High, Pool area._

"Ugh…" I groan to myself as I stand up, looking around to check my surroundings.

I'm shocked when I come to the realization that this is our school.

"Why is our school the subject of the TV world this time?" My mind ponders a bit as I take a closer look of at the place. The sky has bits of static emanating from it every now and then as well as having random numbers appear in the sky. The pool itself is awkward, too. It has icky green water filling it, better watch my step…

I wander around the area for a bit before a voice accompanied with the sound of cheering erupts, stopping me in my tracks.

"Hellooooo! Sorry for the wait!" I look around in every direction to try to find the source of it, even though I know the voice all too well. It's none other than Rise.

"Rise?! If you can hear me, come out!"

….

No response, but she does continue speaking,

"Greetings boys and girls of Yasogami! The P-1 Grand Prix is about to begin! There's no need for manners or courtesy or anything today, so let it all hang out! Tell us how you really feel!"

What is she talking about? She wasn't seen in the video at all so I don't know why she's here.

I try to call out to her again, only for no response. I do hear the sound of cheering again, but I can't seem to track the source of that either.

The cheering dies down as Rise begins speaking again, "I, Risette will be your commentator! But first, the General has a few words for you all!"

A screen appears in front of me, and Teddie in the same costume he had on in the promo-video was on it.

"So he is the host after all…"

"Heeheehee… you're all here now!"

I guess he's referring to the Investigation Team since I'm not really supposed to be here.

"Well then! I'm proud to announce the opening of our bear-y own P-1 Grand Prix!"

More cheering from now erupts; I fix my eyes on the screen in front of me.

"Teddie, what are you doing? Why would you bring back the Midnight Channel?"

"Oh, well if it isn't The Nosy Secretary herself! Always arriving to where she's not welcome!"

"Excuse me?!"

An angry expression crept up on my features as Teddie and I had a tense moment of silence. My expression however, changed when his did, both of us displaying expressions of shock.

"Intruders discovered… Unexpected… Unex-ex-ex…."

The TV shuts off but quickly comes back on. Teddie reappears but this time his eyes are that of a Shadow. His tone is completely different, almost that of a robot.

"Case 04: Multiple intruders detected. Entering elimination process."

"Multiple intruders…!"

The screen turns off and my mind starts racing about who else could be here besides the Investigation Team and myself.

Oh well, maybe I should just get out of here.

But before I could do that, the screen pops back on,

"Breaking news! It seems we have a few new competitors to add to our roster!"

A silhouette of someone shows up with a pile of bullets in the light.

"Her fingers are guns, her eyes are sights!" The Heartless Armed Angel, Aigis!" An android of shows up on screen, her pose sends a chill down my spine as she has guns coming out of seemingly everywhere on her body!

"Target spotted!"

The next silhouette makes me gasp, as it's clearly me! Not to mention my jewels are the weapons in the light.

"You better keep your secrets safe from this one! The Ball-busting Secretary from Hell, Saiyaka Ushiromiya!"

My pose is actually quite ridiculous as my title…

"Now, who's on the bucket list today?"

I don't remember saying that, either…

The next silhouette was accompanied with a pair of boxing gloves.

"The man who lusts for power returns! The two-fisted Protein Junkie, Akihiko Sanada!"

An adult man with silver hair and many scars across his chest shows up on screen. His body is well-built too. I'm not gonna lie, I blushed a little. Although I have to question why he's half-naked running around in a cape…

"I'll force my way through!"

Another silhouette shows up on the screen, its weapon being a rapier.

"Punishing evil from her lonely throne! The Imperious Queen of Execution, Mitsuru Kirijo!"

A woman with lovely, long red hair shows up on the screen. She's wearing a black skin-tight body suit with a luscious white fur coat.

"It's time for the execution!"

"But wait, there's more!" The screen flashes to Teddie who takes off his costume, he speaks in his normal tone of voice and his eyes are back to normal

"I'll be entering as well! I am the void that swallows all, Teddie! Now that there are no secret competitors around here, get to fighting everyone!"

Well, so much for going incognito. Also, what is going on with Teddie? He's acting like he recently developed Split-Personality Disorder.

Just then a gust of smoke surrounds me; I was knocked out of my thoughts with a gasp. I ready myself by taking my defensive stance, when the smoke clears, I'm met with a pair of large brown eyes.

"Yosuke?" I look at him and drop my stance, resting my elbow into the palm of my other and bringing the back of the hand on my rested arm to my chin.

"Hello Sayo-san. Never thought I'd see you here."

I form a nervous smile and laugh sarcastically, knowing I wasn't supposed to be here, but yet here I am.

"You always were so desperate to follow us around weren't you?" Yosuke chuckles a little at his remark.

Is he purposely trying to get on my nerves? He of all people should know not to wreck my nerves…

"If you think that I'm here because I wanted to follow you guys, you're incorrect."

"Isn't that what you said all the other times we caught you stalking us last year? C'mon Sayo, why won't you just tell the truth."

"I am telling the truth!" I can feel my blood pressure rising slightly from his accusing statements…

Even if what he's saying true.

"It's not a matter of whether or not I'm here stalking you guys. It's the fact that the Midnight Channel is back and I'm here to do something about it."

"And why are you trying to do that?" A smirk pulls at Yosuke's lips as he continues, "You know you don't have the intellect to solve something by yourself. Hell, how can someone who can't get a date expect to solve a mystery alone?"

My mouth opens slightly, how dare he attacks MY romantic life while he's the one who is constantly shot down?

"It's not like your romantic life is going better than mine."

The screen pops up, and Rise is on the screen. Her voice is accompanied with the sound of cheering.

"Oooooohhhh what do we have here? The Captain and the Secretary are totally ready to tear each other to pieces! Get ready everybody, I'll sure this'll be good!"

I avert my gaze from Yosuke and turn to Rise,

"Rise what are you doing? Why are you encouraging this?!" My remarks fell on deaf ears and the sound of Yosuke twirling his kunai fall on mine. I move my eyes back to him as he starts talking,

"Well you heard the girl, what are you waiting for Sayo? Prepare yourself… COME Jiraiya!"

Yosuke's persona appears before me. He's completely serious…

"I guess I don't have a choice. Celeste, head my call!"

Celeste appears behind me and I see Yosuke smile slightly,

"Good to see you're going to fight; I'd be a liar to say I didn't want to beat your ass for all the torment you put me through."

I brush off his quote as I focus my eyes on him.

He starts by sending Jiraiya at me in an attempt at a Garu spell.

I put my fingers together and fired one bullet from each hand, striking Jiraiya. Yosuke groaned in pain slightly, but it was short lived as he came dashing at me. I grabbed my wind charm with my right hand and elegantly spin with it in my hand, causing a whip of wind to form. I then lifted my hand upward in and the whip lashed upward, I then twisted my body and leaped forward, bringing my hand down in an attempt to slash Yosuke.

He dodged it and swiped at me in an attempt to counter attack, but I brought my hand back up and our weapons clashed and locked. Seizing to take opportunity of the stalemate, Yosuke used his free hand to take another swipe with his kunai at me, but I reacted by twisting my body so my other hand met his, I grabbed my ice charm while doing this.

Another clash of metal was heard and we locked, our eyes meeting each others as we stared intensely at one another, waiting for the other to make the next move. He blew a kiss at me and I leapt back, attaching my charms back to my pouch and using my fingers to shoot more bullets him.

He sidestepped to dodge them, but got nicked.

"Celeste!" I called upon Celeste for her to draw a magic circle a little in front of me for a Hamaon spell. I covered her from Yosuke by firing more bullets at him.

Yosuke responded by sending Jiraiya right at Celeste in an attempt to hit her. I noticed this and quickly grabbed my earth charm, stepping in front of her to block the attack. When I lifted my head over my shield, I saw that Yosuke was already in the air. He was somehow magically able to replicate numerous kunai and toss them at me. I instinctively readied my shield upwards to block them, but I noticed they missed me completely.

I forgot Jiraiya was still in front of me and he sweeped me from underneath the shield. Shocked, I fell flat on my face.

Jiraiya had his shuriken in his hand and was ready to strike me and end this match. I called Celeste who fired a beam of light at him. It hit him and I heard Yosuke coughing. I quickly called upon Celeste again to teleport me back behind the circle.

I instantly appeared and reappeared behind the circle. Putting my charm away, I resorted to shooting again.

"Aw, this again Sayo-san? I thought you had more tricks up your sleeve than that!"

Keeping calm, I called upon Celeste who summoned a ball of light. She floated upward, spiking it down so it landed in front of Yosuke. It exploded, flashing a blinding light which blinded him.

"AH! Not cool!" He shouted, too confused and disoriented to do anything.

Smiling I ran over to him and begin pounding on him with a series of strikes. I finished by twirling around to be behind him and delivering a palm strike that made him stumble right on

"Celeste, activate it now!" Heading my call, Celeste lifted her hand, causing a pillar of light to lift up from where Yosuke was. A shrill scream came from Yosuke as the light engulfed him.

When it faded, Yosuke was on the ground unconscious. I called Celeste back to me as I walked over to Yosuke, I crouched down and started prodding him with my finger hoping to wake him up. He came too eventually,

"Nngh… S- Sayo-san?"

"Yes?"

"You… You're right… I really am weak."

What is he talking about? HE was the one implying that I was the weak one…

"I'm sorry, what on earth are you talking about? You were the one saying mean things to me."

Yosuke opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't get any words out before Rise's voice returned.

"Oh my goodness what an amazing fight! Both competitors went at it like cats and dogs. But in the end, the Secretary overtakes the Captain!"

I look down at Yosuke, then back to Rise.

"Rise, what's the matter with you?! Yosuke was hurt because of these shenanigans! Stop this right now!"

Rise steps back and Teddie appears on the screen, not wearing his costume,

"Hey! Don't lash out like that! There's no need for violence baby."

"Don't call me that!" I was a little annoyed by Teddie and Rise. They're both acting very obnoxious.

"Oh well, you can relieve your pent up frustration in the next round! Only the winner gets to move on so I suggest you hurry." The screen turns off and I turn back to Yosuke. I slowly rise to my feet,

"I'm sorry Yosuke, but I have to go on." Yosuke stands up too and looks at me sadly.

"Did you, really mean what you said before the fight Sayo-san?"

"What are you talking about? I don't recall saying anything rude to you."

"You said… something about me being weak and a coward. And that was the reason I couldn't save Saki-senpai…"

I look at him wide-eyed. An expression of sadness overcomes me a few seconds later.

Saki was Yosuke's co-worker at Junes last year. He was also in love with her. Sadly she was killed in the Midnight Channel. Even worse, when Yosuke and Yu went to go investigate, they find that she truly hated Yosuke.

Even though I can't feel guilty for taking that low of a blow since I didn't say those things to him. I do feel bad that something like that was even brought up.

"But I didn't say those things… you said to me that I was weak, that I was only following you guys around like some lost puppy. And that I can't do a thing myself."

"I… don't remember saying those things, Saiyaka."

"I see, well I have to hurry and move on. Bye Yosuke!"

I ran off and exited the pool area, leaving Yosuke behind as I headed to the school. I approached a door and entered the building.

**And end chapter 2! I had major issues deciding what I should have Yosuke say to Saiyaka, so I'm sorry if it came off as a little weak. Until next time! *Places Bookmark***


	4. Chapter 3: A Bitter-Sweet Kiss

**Chapter 3: A Bitter-Sweet Kiss.**

_**Warnings: Chapter contains extremely suggestive language and many flashbacks. Read at own risk. KanjixNaoto fans should be wary too, as some OCxKanji goes down in this chapter.**_

_Location: Yasogami High, Gym. _

I open a door and look ahead; I can see chairs everywhere with a few cameras used in Hollywood movies here and there. There are a few laces of tape labeled "P-1 Grand Prix scattered around here and there. Taking a closer look at the scenery itself…

"Oh my gosh, is this our gym?" My eyes widen and wander with curiosity. I notice strange looking people that are aimlessly walking around through the junk as if it doesn't bother them. They look like shadows, I sense no hostility from them, but I keep my guard up as I make my way through the mountains of chairs.

I stop at the sound of voices coming from the other side of the mountains of stacked chairs. I quickly crouch behind them and look through the cracks. I can make out a lone figure, but as I look through a crack that gives me a larger field of vision. I can see that it's Kanji!

My heart jumps a little as I eye him from a distance; a faint blush appears on my face. His eyes shift towards my general direction and I quickly duck down so he won't see me peeking through the cracks. After a while, I sheepishly look back up through the same crack. Kanji scratches the back of his neck and turns around while mumbling something that isn't audible to my ears. He exits the gym, leaving me there alone.

If he was just fighting with someone, he must've won if he was able to leave. The thought was rather bitter sweet. The sweet being that he's not hurt at all, the bitter that I still have a chance of ending up fighting with him.

After the door shuts behind Kanji, I stand from behind the mountain stack of chairs and move to the area of the gym that's clear of clutter. I see that there was no one else here, so who was Kanji talking to…

Seeing no one here myself, I decide to leave the gym. Leaving from the same door Kanji left from not too long ago.

_Location: Hallway_

When I do, I see that I'm in the hallway, but like every other part of the school so far, it's distorted too. There are a few puddles of water with static emanating from them as well as more of those shadow students.

I see a stair case that I decide I want to go up, but when I try I'm met with some unknown force that sends me to the ground on my butt.

"Ow… what was that?" I rub my face as I stand up and walk to the same spot that pushed my back. I gently reach out my hand, but it's met with the same force that pushed me back.

"An invisible wall?" Annoyed, I decide to go another direction. I met invisible wall after invisible wall until I was finally able to open another door.

_Location: Music Room._

When I'm inside the room I shut the door behind me.

"Finally…"

I sigh in relief as I turn around to see where I am. The first thing I see is a big piano with the word "Mayonaka" encrypted on it. The floor under it has the P-1 label and it's surrounded with multiple pairs of shoes that form a large circle around it. I see the many musical instruments in the room and come to one conclusion,

"This must be the music room."

But I was lead here by Teddie… why? Just as soon as the thought pops into my head, a cloud of smoke engulfs the room.

When it clears, I see that Kanji is standing in front of me. My face flushes slightly, but I stare him right in the face.

"Hey, Sai-senpai. How's it goin'?

"Fine thank you…" I feel my chest getting tighter and I back up flat against the door, gripping the door knob tightly.

"What's wrong, you look nervous senpai? That's not like you…"

"Oh no, it's nothing." I try desperately to open the door, but the knob won't budge. I don't even remember locking it.

"You aren't going anywhere, Sai-chan. We're picking up right from where we left off at the summer festival."

Kanji never uses the suffix "chan" on my name, nor the tone he's using right now. My face gets even redder as he gets closer to me.

_I sat there at the summer festival alone, waiting for my date to arrive. I'm wearing my silk white yukata with lovely sunflowers decorating it. A light blue ribbon with frilly white lace and a sunflower attached to it sits in my hair which I put into a ponytail that hangs from the left side of my head. A matching obi is holding my yukata together. When I looked at my phone for the time and realized he's 30 minutes late, my face saddens._

"_It happened again it seems…"_

_This seemed to happen a lot with the guys I agree to go out with, when I get to the meeting place they never seem to show up._

"_Guess there's no helping it… I'll enjoy myself then." I would be with my friends if I knew this guy would blow me off like the others, but I stayed behind to wait for him._

_I feel sad and empty as go to the various attractions alone, trying to enjoy myself as much as I can._

_When I grow tired of walking around, I sit on a bench under a tree not too far away from the festival. I sigh softly as I look out into the lovely lights._

_Just then, two men approach me,_

"_Well ,well, well, look what we have here, a lone girl." _

_The other chuckles before speaking, "She looks like she's in need for a good time."_

_I contort my face as I fearlessly look them in the face,_

"_I'm fine, thank you."_

"_Oooooo, feisty."_

_One of the men reaches out to grab me and I smack his hand away forcefully._

"_I'd appreciate it if you don't touch me."_

_He slowly rubs the hand I smacked before looking back to me._

"_She's definitely feisty alright." _

_He tilted his head as if signaling the other man, who quickly reached out to me. I tried to smack his hand away, but he caught my arm and wrenched it, causing me to yelp in pain and stand up._

"_Hands off…" I said solemnly, trying to sound threatening. The only response I received however was him tightening his grip on me._

"_You aren't going anywhere before we have OUR fun." _

_I grit my teeth as I try to come up with a plan. I would just put my martial arts skills to use, but this yukata has thoroughly restricted my flexibility…_

_I wonder if there are people nearby, if so…_

"_Let go of me, you perverts!" I screamed as loud as I could, hoping SOMEONE would hear me. With the noise of the festival going on however, I highly doubted someone would. Even so, there aren't many people out here this year TO hear me._

"_Can it, Goldie-locks!" The man holding me hissed._

"_No! I said let go of me!" _

Kanji at this point is has his hand that isn't holding his chair against the door behind me, effectively pinning me against the wall.

He leans in closer to me,

"How 'bout it?"

My heart was pounding so fast, I felt like it was going to jump out of my body. I mean sure I thought about Kanji doing something like this to me when I did 'those things,' but something about this just felt wrong.

I was almost relieved to hear the TV monitor come on accompanied by Teddie's voice.

"Now, now you two! This is a place to fight, not indulge in naughty behavior!"

Kanji scoffed before pulling back,

"Meh, she was just a piece of ass anyway."

"Huh?" I'm baffled by his statement, he was clearly just about to do something intimate with me and now I'm "just a piece of ass?"

"Don't act so surprised, senpai! You're just a way for me to bust a nut so I can move on with my life. 'Sides, you of all people should know I'm only into dating Naoto."

I couldn't believe my ears. I mean I knew he liked Naoto, but for him to not even see me as a human being…

No! I don't wanna believe that...

He just couldn't…

_I was trying to pry my hand free with the other, but he just yanked me. I guess to reassure me he's in control._

"_We can do this the easy way or the hard way, girlie."_

_The other man took this opportunity to chime in,_

"_The way she's fightin' I reckon she loves it the 'hard' way." He put an emphasis on "hard," making their intentions are now all too clear to me. He was about to put something over my head, but stopped at the sound of a voice._

"_Hey asshole! Let her go!" The three of us turned to see that it was Kanji._

"_T- Tatsumi?"_

"_Who the hell are you?"_

_Kanji cracks his knuckles and slowly starts walking toward us. I felt the man's grip loosen ever so slightly on me. I look and see his eyes are clearly fixed on Kanji._

The two of us stand right in front of the piano inside of the circle of shoes. The two of us eye each other before Rise's voice fills the room,

"Alright you two, we wanna see a clean fight! None of that mushy stuff got it?"

Kanji smirks a little while before replying to her,

"You got it, not that I really wanna do that stuff with _her_ anyway."

Before I could voice my opinion Rise speaks again,

"May the battle between the Beefcake Emperor and the Secretary from Hell commence!"

No sooner than she said "commence," Kanji came charging at me, attempting to bash me in the head with his chair. I easily side step his attack and look at him with weak eyes.

"C'mon senpai, it's no fun if you don't fight back." He lunges at me again, this time I grab my earth charm to stop his attack.

He makes a sound of frustration as his chair collides with the shield.

Please stop… I don't want to fight you.

My mind thinks this, but I can't quite put the thought into words. I leap backwards, putting away my earth charm and bringing out my wind charm. I know Kanji is weak to wind and that I don't really have a chance in a straight up brawl with him since he is almost three times my size. I also know this charm alone isn't going to stop him; I'm going to need Celeste's help if I want to win.

Upon my feet touching the floor, I spring forward. Kanji is already running toward me ready for a clash. I deter him by firing a few bullets with my free hand and when I get close enough I take a swipe at him with my charmed hand. He dodges my attack and tries to punch me in the face, but I dodge his attack as well.

_Taking his carelessness as an opportunity, I quickly stomp on my captor's foot. He screams out loud and releases me. When he does, I quickly run over to Kanji._

_I finally reach Kanji and turn to face the men, who only scoff before leaving. More than likely so they don't make a scene. My eyes meet Kanji's, but his display subtle anger rather than concern._

"_What the hell are you doing by yourself up here Saiyaka?! You're just asking for trouble!"_

_I explain to him how I was supposed to be with a boy and how he never showed up. _

I quickly bring my hand up in an attempt at an uppercut; the whip of wind grazes Kanji's face, leaving a small cut. He backs off as I bring my hand down diagonally to slash him.

"Heh, this is more like it, senpai."

This isn't going to go anywhere at this rate. I'm pretty sure he knows as well, but I'm still shocked when I see his persona card floating in front of him.

"I didn't think I'd need you, but c'mon out Take-Mikazuchi!" Shortly after saying that, his persona appears.

This is _really_ bad. His persona specializes in electric attacks and his physical attacks would probably shatter my earth shield.

"Ain't 'cha gonna summon yours?"

I eye him before putting my wind charm back onto my pouch.

"Celeste, come forth!"

"_Damn, that sucks. You were better off just rejectin' him."_

"_You're right."_

_I notice Kanji isn't looking at me anymore._

"_Why aren't you looking at me? Is there something wrong?"_

"_No. I- It's nothin'."_

_My eyes narrow to slits. I know he doesn't think I'm ugly._

"_Well, there are a few things I haven't done here yet. Do you mind coming along with me?"_

_Even though he's not looking at me, I can tell his face is unnaturally red._

"_Wh-What?! Y-You mean walk around here alone wit 'cha?!"_

"_Well considering what just happened, I wouldn't want to walk around alone."_

"_I-I dunno…"_

_At this point I'm desperate, so as my last resort I activate my manipulative "omg you can't resist this moe mode."_

"_C'mon Kanji please… I don't want to get grabbed up by some nasty perverts again because I was left alone."_

"_Alright, fine! Just stop actin' like that! Shit creeps me out…"_

_I smile warmly, tell him thank you, and we walk back to the festival._

Celeste appears behind me ready to attack.

"I hope you're well prepared, Kanji!" I readied my fingers and took aim at him, but he only smiled slightly as he ordered Take-Mikazuchi to attack. His persona obliges by forcefully slamming his sword into the ground, a huge shockwave emanating from the force of impact.

I think he's using a Mazio spell, so I move to the side and tell Celeste to move as well. I turned out to be correct as a few lightning bolts appeared from where Celeste and I were just standing.

"Not bad." He called out as he saw his spell miss me.

I point my fingers at Kanji and fire a few bullets at him. To my annoyance, Take-Mikazuchi hunches over and places his massive arm in front of Kanji, blocking all of them. I mutter a sound of frustration as Kanji only smirks and his persona lifts back up to stand behind him.

"Aw c'mon, Sai-senpai. That can't be all you've got!"

Kanji starts running at me again; ready to strike me with his chair. His persona on the other hand slowly advances towards me while readying himself to strike with his lightning bolt shaped sword.

I fire a few more bullets at Kanji, but he swats them away with his chair. The bullets didn't even make him stop running at me.

As a last resort, I call upon Celeste to fire a beam of light at Kanji. When she does, she aims it at his feet. Kanji of course saw this and jumped into the air; he dropped his chair in mid air and spread his arms like a flying squirrel. I just stared wide eyed at him.

_The first two people we saw were Yu and Yosuke, who eyed Kanji somewhat shockingly. When they saw me however, their eyes narrowed as did mine and the four of us stood in silence until Yosuke broke it,_

"_So Saiyaka, here stalking us again?" _

"_No I'm not. I was having a good time by myself until I ran into trouble."_

_Yu was the next to speak up, "You mean Kanji?" _

_My face reddens slightly as I explained to them that Kanji saved me from the creeps earlier._

_Yosuke was enlightened by this, his eyes fall on Kanji._

"_So that's why you ran off, huh?"_

_Kanji gave a nod in reply to Yosuke's question._

Kanji came crashing down and landed right on top of me, he tackled me to the ground and he placed both of his legs on either side of me. I look up into his eyes and he looks into mine for a brief moment before clenching his fists.

Then he punched me…

_The four of us started walking in a group, which ironically was the polar opposite of Teddie's in terms of the gender of its members: Three boys and one girl._

I was completely shocked that he just did that. He just hit me right in my face.  
Then he did it again.

"_What? Kanji, you sure about this man?"_

"_Well I can't just let her walk alone. What if those creeps are still around?"_

"_If you insist… Alright, see you later man!" _

He hit me again and again and again. I laid there in complete shock; I never in a million years thought Kanji of all people would do this to me. I turned my head so I was looking at him again. I saw that he lifted both of his fists and put them together.

I slowly reached for my pouch…

"_Well, here we are."_

"_THIS is your house?!"_

"_Well yes…"_

I grasped hold of my earth charm and waited for Kanji to bring his hands down. The moment I saw his hands move I instantly brought the charm to my face, causing his hands to unexpectedly hit the rock shield full force.

"Aah! Damn it that hurts!" He shot up, cringing from the pain. He almost completely forgot I was right here.

With my shield still in front of me, I push up towards the stunned Kanji with all of the strength I had left, forcing him onto his back with me on top of him.

"_God damn! What the hell do your parents do for a livin'?"_

_I giggle slightly before replying to him,_

"_They run a high class jewelry store in the city."_

"_Really? Never knew… to be honest I was always scared of you."_

"_Me…?_

"_Well, I was always sorta afraid of girls in general."_

I felt a little embarrassed in this position, but I try to push the naughty thoughts out of my head as I reach for my fire charm. I was more than angry that he damaged MY face!

"_Really? I couldn't tell since you're always around Chie, Yukiko, and Rise."_

"_Well, they helped get over my fears and insecurities."_

_I didn't know about the TV world and shadows at the time, so my mind pondered about how they helped._

I grasp the fire charm and bring it to Kanji's neck, letting it burn him for a few seconds. He was screaming in pain and begun trying to force me off of him.

I responded by lifting up my hand with my earth charm in it, the shield reformed itself quickly. I then smashed it downward into Kanji's face. Kanji squirmed a little more under me before stopping. I lifted the shield to see he was unconscious. My face reddens a little as I look at him, he looks so adorable sleeping.

Take-Mikazuchi disappears and I call Celeste away as well.

"_You know, I like you better this way."_

"_Huh?" I had no idea what he was talking about at the time, probably because I was oblivious to how much of an ungrateful bitch I was back then._

Kanji groaned a little before coming to, I was still on top of him with my legs on either side of him.

"God damn, for a dream getting hit sure does hurt like hell." He had his eyes closed as he rubbed his head while sitting up.

Dream, what is he talking about? This is clearly reality.

He opens his eyes and his face goes red, but he doesn't say anything.

The screen pops back up and Teddie is on it,

"Goodness, what a bear-y close match! I was on the edge of seat!"

Kanji blurts out, "What the hell!? You tellin' me I lost?!"

"That's right Kanji! You got pwned by a girl!"

"Well Saiyaka you know the deal! Time for you to move on! Try not to take too long." The screen cuts off and I look back to Kanji, he's still blushing like crazy.

"Damn senpai, you sure stuck it to me huh?"

I nod sheepishly in reply before asking if he was okay.

"The hell? You go from callin' me names to kickin' my ass to askin' if I'm okay? Man, this is one crazy dream."

I don't remember calling him any names before the fight started. Now that I think about it, Yosuke accused me of saying offensive things before our fight as well. I wonder if this is some part of the twisted reality that we're in.

"Oh well, you ain't hurt are ya? I mean your face is all bruised up."

I get a little flustered by this, but instead of lashing out I only reply with a sarcastic.

"Well, yours isn't exactly in perfect shape either."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine when I wake up." He smiles as if he's so sure that this is indeed a dream. Nonetheless, my mind flashes back to what he said before the fight…

"_I-It's nothin'. Anyway shouldn't you be goin' inside now? I do need to get home myself y'know."_

"_I- I almost forgot! I forgot to thank you properly." I put on a small smile and walk so I'm right in front of Kanji._

"What's the matter? You look so… distracted?"

Without realizing it, I find my face moving closer to his.

"_What the hell are you doin'?" His face is bright red, but I still move my face closer to his._

_God how I just wanted him so badly._

"S-Senpai…?"

If he thinks this was just some bad dream at this moment, I'll gladly use it to my advantage. I don't even care if he finds out about this being real later.

_Our lips were just about to meet when the porch lights to my house turned on. Shortly after the lights turned on front door opened and I heard Miyu's voice. I immediately pull away from Kanji, I felt so hot and embarrassed._

"_Milady there you are, I was just going to go look for you! Come on inside! I already have your bath water ready!"_

"_C-Coming…" As much I didn't want to, I went inside. Miyu bowed to and thanked to Kanji before following me inside._

My lips finally found his. He was a little reluctant use his tongue at first, but he gave in eventually and used it. I felt like I was in heaven!

After a while we broke the kiss and looked away from each other. It was quiet for a while, neither of us made a sound after it. Well that was until Kanji spoke up,

"Don't you have to get to your next match?"

"Y-Yes, you're right." With that I slowly raised myself off of him and turned to leave the music room. Right when I reached out to the door knob I turned my head to look at Kanji. His face is almost emotionless as he eyes me. I quickly opened the door and excused myself.

I kind of feel guilty for taking advantage of him like that, but there's nothing to be done about it now. I bring my hand to my lips before continuing into the hallway.

**Finally finished! Goodness it took me a while to get this done. I'm sorry for using flashbacks during the fight, but I felt it added some sort of tension between the two. I'm also going to consider this story an AU from now on.  
Also, no Saiyaka did not fall in love with Kanji just from him saving her. She had a crush on him long before the summer festival. **

**And to Miss Hanamura: You're very much welcome! :D**

**Until next time! *Places bookmark.***

**P.S: Sorry KanjixNaoto fans…**


	5. Chapter 4: A Dance of Bullets

**Chapter 4: A Dance of Bullets.**

_**A/N: Yes, the name of this chapter is a reference to Noel's theme from BlazBlue. (which is owned by Arc System Works!) I own nothing other than my OC's. **_

_**Anyway, let's continue shall we?**_

* * *

_Location: Hallway_

I slowly continued down the hallway, making sure not to run into any invisible walls. I eventually reached a window that I can see the front of the school from; I see a lone figure standing out there. To my utmost surprise, it was the leader of the Investigation Team Yu Narukami.

"I can't believe he actually lost."

I thought he was the strongest of them all, I find it hard to believe someone actually bested him…

"Or maybe it was one of the other contestants…?" My mind raced with possibilities, but stopped when I saw my reflection in the window.

"!?"

My face was all scratched up from my previous battle, not to mention I was covered in sweat. Feeling unsanitary, I took out my handkerchief from my pouch and wiped my face clean. After that, I took out my spare bottle of perfume and sprayed myself a few times.

My hair still looked frizzled and my clothes were a little tattered. My face was still covered with cuts and a few small bruises, but there was nothing I can do about that now unless I find Yukiko and she uses Dia on me…

I sigh softly to myself as I continue down the hallway; I was stopped by a somewhat familiar voice.

"Saiyaka? What are you doing here?" I turn to see that it was Yukiko, how ironic. However, she looked worse than I did, her clothes were torn in several places and her face was riddled with bruises.

A sad look creeps onto me as I see her in her current condition.

"Oh my gosh are you okay Amagi?"

"Yes I suppose…" She looks down to the floor and her eyelids lower.

"What happened?"

"I lost… to Chie."

Now that was a real shocker, Chie and Yukiko were best friends. I can't even begin to imagine what would make Chie do this to her.

"Chie did this to you?! But why would she do that?"

Yukiko looks up to me; her eyes look so… cold.

"I don't know. She said I attacked her first, when she was the one who attacked me."

I try to piece together what Yukiko is saying, but I can't get anything to fit.

"Did she say anything else?"

Yukiko displays a puzzled look on her face as she begins to recall.

"Well, she said that I said some really degrading things to her. However, that's not what happened, she was the one saying things to me."

A light-bulb goes off in my head as she says that.

"Hold on, similar things happened with me after my fights. It's like the conversations we claimed to have before-hand didn't match."

Yukiko's eyes shoot up and meet mine, her eyes are widened with surprise.

"Really, Saiyaka?"

"Yes, I think it has something to do with this world causing some sort of distortion to make people fight each other who under normal circumstances wouldn't."

"That does make some kind of sense."

"I suppose, but I can't really say for certain."

There was a slight pause of silence between us until Yukiko broke it.

"Oh Saiyaka, aren't you still in the Grand-Prix? Would you like me to heal you?"

This is incredibly ironic since I was just thinking about finding her for this reason, but after looking at her current condition I have to refuse.

"I thank you for offering, but you need it way more than I do."

Yukiko looks down again as if I struck a nerve for a split second, but she quickly reforms her calm demeanor.

"Well I don't have to fight anymore."

I try to generously decline again, but she stops me.

"No it's fine really, I'll be fine…"

She looks at me with sincere eyes; at her insistence I finally agree. She promptly summons her persona Konohana-Sakuya to cast Dia on me. I can practically feel my cuts and bruises clear from my face as the spell continues.

When it finishes I feel more sad than happy, but I smile and thank her anyway. I try to walk away, but Yukiko stops me again.

"Oh Saiyaka, before you go I need to ask you something."

"And what would that be?"

Her tone is that of down-right bitterness. It rather reminds me of how I used to be.

"If you happen to see Teddie," she pauses for a second before continuing, "make him pay."

She put extra stress on each of her last three words. I always heard from Teddie that Yukiko was "bear-y" scary when she was mad. The look in her eyes and the sound of her voice alone makes me believe him.

"If I find him, I'll make sure to burn him good for you." I laugh slightly as does Yukiko before I continue back down the hallway.

Like earlier when I was making my way through the hallway, I was met with many invisible walls as if they were trying to direct me. Again, I was led into a room since I practically had no choice.

* * *

_Location: Classroom_

I close the door behind me and check my surroundings. I see desks everywhere accompanied with those mysterious neutral shadow-like students. There are books on a few of the desks, and a chalkboard in the front.

Well this is obviously a classroom. I walk around in the room and find more video cameras and P-1 Grand Prix labeled tape.

"I wonder why I was led here…"

Just like all the other times I was alone in an area of this school, I was suddenly surrounded by a mass of white fog. I instinctively reach for my pouch and grasp my earth charm, ready for a fight that I knew was coming.

I can see a silhouette of a person before it clears; I can't really make it out though. However as it does, I can pretty much tell who it is.

When it clears completely, Naoto is in front of me. Her head is hanging slightly, obscuring her eyes from my view. She lifts up her head, her blue eyes now staring into my own.

"Hello Sayo, fancy meeting you here."

If my deductions from what my previous encounters and what Yukiko had said to me earlier are correct, then I know the Naoto I see now is probably going to say things she normally wouldn't say.

"The feeling's mutual, Naoto."

I clutch my charm even tighter as her eyes scan me briefly. After analyzing me she begins talking again.

"I see you're gripping you're weapon rather tightly Sayo." She snickers slightly, "do you feel threatened by me?"

"No not at all…"

"Hehe, there's no need to lie Sayo. I know how you really feel towards me."

"What do you mean?"

A slight smirk forms on her face, "I know you secretly hate me. You hate how I'm a strong and independent woman, something you wish you could be. You hate how Kanji is madly in love with me and not you…"

"Stop it Naoto! I know you aren't really saying those things…"

I know this isn't what she's really saying, but…. It still hurts because she's right. I do hate her for those things. I'm very insecure about myself in many ways, but I've learned to outgrow those things…

Or at least I think I have.

"Are you trying to say that this is some sort of illusion? I know you aren't trying to play detective and save the day. You of all people know such a task is impossible for you. Need I remind you about your mo-"

I disrupt her by shouting "Stop!"

I clamp my eyes shut to keep back some tears threatening to fall from memories of my mother. I re open my eyes and lock them with Naoto's.

I know this is an illusion, but it hurts as if it's reality.

* * *

_I'm crying my eyes out as I explain to the young detective what I had witnessed. My mom was already taken to a hospital so her injuries could be tended to. Miyu stayed behind as she was also a witness. She stood next to me with her hands clasped in front of her._

"_Did you get a good look at the assailants?" The person who I believed to be a boy at the time said._

"_Y- Yes." I sniffle as I reply to him._

"_Then can you describe them for me please?" _

_I nod slowly and begin to do what I was asked. The detective only listens and jots down what I say into a notebook._

"_I thank you for your cooperation. Please stay safe Ms. Ushiromiya; we'll have those bad guys for you in no time."_

_I smile warmly before replying to the junior detective, "Thank you Detective Shirogane._

"What's wrong? Can't stand to hear the truth?"

I'm at a loss for words, my mouth just hangs slightly open. The air suddenly feels heavy and very tense.

_Detective Shirogane tips his hat to us before leaving along with the other police officers. Miyu quickly goes to the kitchen and comes back out with snacks and some tissue for my teary eyes._

_When she returns, my father walks through the door and begins questioning us as to what happened. After Miyu and I tell him, he punches the wall he's standing next to really hard before leaving back out to go to the hospital._

_Miyu then offers me the items she retrieved from the kitchen. I deny them, but I thank her anyway before going upstairs to my room; I sat there all night crying at the edge of my bed. I've never felt so low in my life._

_The incident replays itself over and over in my head again. I watch again and again as I sit there and do nothing, not even call 110. I just sit there hopeless every time as my mom was sexually assaulted by two unknown men. Miyu was downstairs at the time, according to what she said she was caught off guard subdued by the men._

_The men were completely unaware of my presence as I watched them through the crack between my parent's bedroom door. I was completely frozen with fear as I heard my mom screaming and begging for the men to stop. I watched my mom look me dead in the face and mouthed for me to run._

_After a while the men noticed me and came charging at me. However Miyu had recovered and came charging up the steps at them with my father's handgun that he keeps somewhere in the house. She yelled for me to move, which I quickly did. _

_I barely avoided one of the men's grasp as I fell to the floor for cover. Miyu fired a few shots at the suspects, hitting one of them in the arm. He hissed in pain as he and his accomplice dashed towards Miyu to escape. She fired more shots at them, hitting the same man in the arm again and the other in one of his legs._

_They finally reached the top of the steps where Miyu was and shoved her aside pretty forcefully. She fell to the ground hard and the men ran downstairs to the front door to escape. Miyu quickly got up to make sure I was okay before checking on my mom. She had already called the police before she came up the steps so they arrived shortly afterwards._

* * *

There was a long moment of silence before Naoto reached into her jacket and pulled out her pistol. I knew now she was completely ready to fight.

Without saying another word to Naoto I summon my Persona. Celeste comes forth and stands next to me.

"I see you're not going to hold back on me. Come, Sukuna-Hikona!" Surely enough, her persona comes forth too.

Not long after Sukuna-Hikona is summoned, Rise's voice fills the room again.

"Looks like the battle between the Killjoy Detective and the Secretary from Hell is about to being! I hope you guys are ready for a ferocious cat fight!"

I see Naoto point her gun and my eyes widen with shock. Is she crazy? Does she not know that the bullets from her revolver will instantly kill a person if they strike in the right area?

Wait, this is an illusion. There's no way that Naoto would be 'this' hostile towards anyone who wasn't a criminal. Meaning she wouldn't really shoot me, or at least I hope so.

However, thinking back to what Yukiko said about Chie saying that she was attacked by Yukiko first gives me second thoughts about my deduction. If Naoto is under the illusion of me attacking her, she'll no doubt fire at me.

POP! Naoto fired a shot directed right at me. I quickly pulled my earth charm in front of me to block the bullet. It's not a high caliber weapon so the shield absorbs it pretty easily.

* * *

_The house phone rang a few days later and Miyu went to answer it. Minutes later she was at my bedroom door knocking. I was lying in bed, my eyes had dark circles from lack of sleep and were red from all the crying I had been doing._

_After a while of me not responding to her, she let herself in with the master key. She seemed rather elated, what she tells me explains why._

"_I have amazing news milady! Detective Shirogane just called and said that the he had apprehended the suspects! The police force wants us to come to the station so they can be identified."_

_I shoot up out of bed and meet Miyu's gleaming green eyes. _

"_Really?" Was all I could really say. _

_Miyu nods and smiles brightly. I quickly jumped out of my bed and hug her tightly; a few tears of joy fall down my face. Miyu returns the hug and tells me to quickly get dressed. My mom was still in the hospital, but I'm sure she'll be happy to hear the news as well._

I return fire at Naoto by firing a few bullets with my fingers. She quickly somersaults out of the way to dodge them and fire a few bullets of her own back at me. Luckily my shield repels them.

Naoto then orders her persona to attack. When she does, Sukuna-Hikona only disappears. I tried not to worry about it and ordered Celeste to fire a beam of light at Naoto.

Naoto quickly dodges it by leaping to the right. In anticipation of this I fire at her; my bullets of darkness hit her in one of her arms and her torso. However they seemed to have little to no effect.

"It seems you forgot that I can resist Light and Dark based attacks, correct?"

I grit my teeth in response to her statement. Light and Darkness are my main two elements. My only option now is to get close to her and fight with the aid of my other charms.

While that was my only option I have two big issues with that, Naoto can just stay away and shoot at me all day and if I do get close, she's no slouch in CQC.

Before I can even come up with a plan, Sukuna-Hikona finally re-appears right behind me. He readies his beam sword to take a swing at me. As he does, I can hear Naoto reloading her gun.

Knowing I can't defend from both attacks at the same time, I tell Celeste to teleport me into the row of desks to evade Naoto's pincer attack.

When I reappear, I quickly tell Celeste to fire a ball of light at Naoto. She spikes one right at Naoto's feet and it explodes with a blinding flash. While Naoto is stunned I quickly knock over two desks that and place them right next to each other to make a fort for cover.

* * *

_Miyu and I arrived to the police station and were greeted by Detective Shirogane. He escorted us through the station to the lineup room. There we saw the two men standing in a line of possible suspects along with two other officers in the room. I was shaking with fear as I met their cold hardened gazes, but Miyu and Detective Shirogane both reassured me that no one in that room can see me._

_The two men who I saw last night are holding the cards 2 and 5. I tell the young detective this as does Miyu. After we tell him this Shirogane holds up one hand with two fingers up and his other with all five._

_The guards in the room nod and take away the two men. I let out a cry of happiness as they do._

"_I can't wait until mom hears about this!" _

"_Yes I'm sure she'll be glad." Miyu added happily._

_Detective Shirogane had a slight smile on his face as he escorted us into the main lobby of the station. _

"_Do you two want anything to drink?" He asked us._

_Miyu politely refused, but I said yes. The Detective Prince then went to the back to get the refreshments._

"_He sure is quite the detective, isn't he Saiyaka?"_

_My face flushes a little before nodding to her question. Miyu notices this and giggles slightly._

* * *

Naoto the flash of light dissipates and Naoto fires another round from her handgun. I watch as the bullet flies right over my impromptu fort and pierces into the wall behind me.

I peek out from my fort and she instantly fires another round at me. She also orders Sukuna-Hikona to disappear again.

She's going for another pincer attack I see. Hoping to stop it from happening I order Celeste to go attack Naoto directly. Celeste goes forth and charges straight at Naoto, dodging the shots that Naoto attempts to fire in retaliation.

When Celeste finally reaches Naoto she attempts to strike with a fierce jab. Naoto moves ever so to the right to dodge and a spike on Celeste's gauntlet scratches her face. Naoto seems calm and collected as usual and tries to kick Celeste right in the gut.

Celeste counters by leaping back and teleporting me right into the completely open Naoto. I quickly grasp my fire charm and lunge at her. Right when I was going to hit her, Sukuna-Hikona reappears right in between us to block my attack.

My charm locks with his sword and we deadlock. Meanwhile Naoto moves out of the way to go reload her gun.

"Celeste go forth!" Upon my command Celeste begins to chase Naoto to stop her from reloading.

While she's doing that I bring my other hand up and fire a shot at him. He is hit and the deadlock is broken. I can hear Naoto grunt in pain as it was. It must've been a critical hit.

For that moment of weakness from my bullet to Naoto's persona, Celeste is finally able to catch her, and when she does she brings her hand down on her hard. Celeste's hand meets Naoto's skull, the force of impact slams Naoto face first into the ground.

* * *

_Detective Shirogane returns with a lemonade and hands it to me._

"_I didn't know what you liked so…"_

"_It's okay! Thank you!" I hastily grab the drink and guzzle it down. Miyu jokingly commented on how un-ladylike I was being. It was honestly the one time in my life that I didn't really care about my mannerisms._

"_I need to go give the case file to my superiors, I'll be back shortly."_

"_Okay…" I sounded rather disappointed, but I was still smiling._

_Detective Shirogane walks off and when he does I suddenly need to use the restroom, so when I see an officer walk by I ask him where one is. He directs me in the same way I saw Shirogane go._

_When I reach the ladies room and reach my hand out to open the door, it opens on its own. The person it reveals causes me to gasp. _

_It was the Detective Prince himself! He… erm… she seemed surprised at first but dragged me into the bathroom before I could utter a word._

_When Shirogane released my arm I blurted out, "What are you doing in here?! This is the girl's bathroom you know!" _

_I felt disgusted. After dealing with what I dealt with a few nights ago and now this… _

_Shirogane's defense reverses my feeling though._

"_I'm in here because….. well…. I'm a girl." She lowers her eyes and her face flushes a little. Another gasp escapes my lips from what I just heard._

_I thought she was a boy. It turns out the "Detective Prince" is in fact the "Detective Princess."_

"_If you're a girl then why don't you say you are?" _

_She seemed angry by my statement, only saying "It's none of your business. Just don't tell anyone about this okay?"_

_She made her way to the door, but before she could open it I locked it and stood in front of it so she couldn't get out._

"_It may be none of my business, but you have some explaining to do." I looked her dead in the eyes; she looked tired and angry a lot like I did. _

"_Fine, we can have lunch together and I'll explain myself then. Now if you'll excuse me I have that file to turn in."_

"_Fine." With that I let her leave the bathroom._

* * *

Naoto lifts her head up; I can see the blood trickling down her head as she does. I run over to her to make sure she's okay. The way Celeste hit her I highly doubt she could get up. I rolled her over and placed her head in my lap.

"Naoto are you okay?! Oh my goodness you're bleeding!" I take out my handkerchief and start wiping away her blood.

"Sayo-senpai… You certainly are strong."

"Huh?"

"You're nothing like you were back then," she chuckled softly, "consider me impressed."

I tried not to cry from hearing her words. I don't know why I would anyway…

"I don't think it was that you hated me… it was that you wanted my approval because you somehow felt inferior to me.

"How did you know…"

"Simple, we watched you fight your own Shadow. I heard everything…"

My face flushes when she says that.

"So you know that I… um… like-"

She nods her head slowly before I could even finish my sentence. The reddened color on my face intensifies.

"So… how do you feel about him?"

Naoto's face doesn't flush nor does she get flustered, she only says, "He's a good friend. Just like the rest of the Investigation Team."

"What?! So you don't like him?"

"No I don't."

I felt… relieved yet kind of stupid at the same time. All this time I thought the two were a pair…

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be."

"Wait, so does Kanji know too?"

"No, he wasn't there at the time. He went off with Yukiko, Teddie, and Yosuke to go save someone else."

Well that was a relief... sort of.

There was a pause of silence before Naoto looked at my face.

"Is there something wrong, Sayo?"

My face flushed even more because I was thinking about what Kanji and I did in the Music Room.

"I- It's nothing…"

"You're such a terrible liar." She laughs slightly before asking me again.

"Okay, okay… well before this… I got in a fight with Kanji and…"

"And…?"

Oh this is so embarrassing!

"We… sort of… well… kissed…"

Naoto's eyes widened a bit, but she didn't act too surprised.

"Oh, I see…"

Naoto opened her mouth to continue speaking, but before she did. The monitor cuts back on and Teddie's voice fills the room.

"That was BEAR-Y impressive, Sai-chan! You totally let your jealousy get the better of you this round!"

Not wanting to hear Teddie's mouth, I just blast the monitor with my fingers. The screen becomes riddled with bullet holes and falls silent.

"Sayo-senpai that was highly uncalled for…"

"Oh well, I'm going to get to the bottom of this tournament and make Teddie pay."

I get and try to help Naoto up, but she refuses. I turn to leave, but Naoto shouts,

"Wait!"

I turn to her and saw that she was fiddling with something inside of her jacket. She eventually pulls out her Detective notebook and tosses it to me.

"I want you to read it."

"Naoto I'm sorry, but I really don't have time-"

"Please…"

The way she said please alone just makes me open the book. The notebook contained Naoto's notes for this particular case. It contained the reason for the other intruders being here as well as how she doesn't think that Teddie and Rise aren't the real culprits. She thinks that someone or something is going around posing as Teddie and even Rise.

Her notes also confirm my suspicions about conversations before fights being twisted.

"I see… thank you Naoto."

I walk over to her and hand back the notebook before walking out of the classroom.

* * *

**YAY I finally finished! It took me forever to finish this since I didn't know how to go about writing the fight scene. And I suppose I should've put "heavily implied KanjixNaoto" in the summary from the beginning. Hehehe… **

**Anyway until next time! *Places Bookmark.***


	6. Chapter 5: An Old Friend

**Chapter 5: An Old "Friend" **

_**Yay! Finally after a crap ton of projects and essays I finally have enough time to write this! ^_^ Sorry I took so long…**_

_**Warning: This chapter will probably make you want to punch Saiyaka in the face. (If you haven't already.) As well as extreme violence, swearing, blood, and mild gore.**_

_**A/N: I have noted that this is my least popular story, but since I'm so close to the end I really do want to finish it. :)**_

* * *

"_What!? You have a date with the Detective Prince Naoto Shirogane!"_

"_Omg I hate you Saiyaka!"_

"_Lucky!"_

_My friends were all over me in the online video chat we were having after I told them about my meeting with Naoto the next day. I left out the part that Naoto is a girl as she asked me to._

"_It's not a date you pack of harpies! It's just a lunch meeting so I can thank him for what he did."_

"_And by thank you mean…"_

"_Shut up!"_

_My face flushes and my friends start laughing at me._

_The laughter dies down when Natsuhi asks, "So how's your mom doing? Fine I hope…"_

_The conversation just went from light-hearted and carefree to serious just like that. _

"_She's fine…" I reply flatly to them. I don't really want to talk about my mom right now, seeing as how it's my fault she ended up the way she is now._

"_You shouldn't blame yourself…" Mai, another friend of mine says._

"_I'm not." My eyes lower and I look away from the camera._

"_I know you're lying." Natsuhi chimes in._

"_I'm sorry I have to go, I have things to do tomorrow." I fake a smile before logging out of the chat._

* * *

I haven't even realized how long I've been wandering around the school as I recall all of these memories. I didn't know where I was supposed to go since I blasted the TV screen before Teddie could tell me.

It was then I heard a voice

"Hello! Hello! Is anyone there? Oh someone please answer…"

It had an echo to it… it also sounded desperate and familiar.

"Rise?"

"Oh thank goodness someone heard me."

"Rise, where are you?"

"Huh? Saiyaka-senpai what are you doing here?"

"That's not important right now; I need to know where you and that fake Teddie are."

"I'm in the Announcement Room. The General has been keeping me captive here so I couldn't contact anyone with my Persona. He's even been impersonating me to commentate on all of the fights. He finally left out so I'm taking the chance to talk."

"I see… did you contact anyone else?"

"Yes, but they were either incapacitated or out of the tournament so they couldn't help anyway… Crap he's back!"

With that, Rise's telepathy link dies. I turn on my heels and begin running to the Announcement Room as fast as I can.

* * *

"_Well Miss Shirogane, I'm waiting…" My voice is barely above a whisper as Naoto and I sit in the food court. The air feels very tense as I stare daggers into her._

"_It's really none of your business, kid." She's not even looking at me as she says that._

"_Kid?! You're younger than I am!" _

_Who the hell does she think she is anyway?!_

"_The way you act I can hardly tell…" She accepts a glass of water from the waiter with a smile. Her eyes never even meet mine when he leaves._

"_If you won't tell me why you keep your gender a secret it won't be one for much longer." A smirk forms on my face when I see that smug look on her face crumble._

"_You wouldn't…!" Her voice sounded so different and high pitched; it brought a coy chuckle out of me. _

"_Better get explaining then Detective Princess." I smirk deviously at her as her face flushes._

"_Why you…."_

_Needless to say that was enough to get her to tell me what I wanted to know._

* * *

I make it to the Announcement Room and kick the door down without much hesitation. I'm greeted by a cry of relief from Rise.

"Saiyaka-senpai!"

I also see she's not alone in the room… the General is here too. He has the same goofy smile Teddie always wears.

"I see you somehow found out where I was. Bear-y impressive senpai."

"Cut the lame bear puns! I know you aren't Teddie! Who are you?!"

The General lowers his eyes and his tone becomes gloomy.

"Are you sure you want to know…?"

I reach for my fire charm and attempt to call upon Celeste, but before I do something grasps my ankle forcefully. I turn and to my surprise it's Daisuke!

How is he even here?! He doesn't know about the T.V. world! Rise also seems just as surprised as I am.

"What the…? I couldn't sense him at all until just now…"

As I look at him, concern shoots up through me and mixes with the fear and confusion. He has blood running down his head, his clothes are ruined and his usually well done hair is all frazzled. There's also a blood trail behind him implying he's been crawling for quite some time.

"Daisuke, what are you…?" I'm so confused I can't finish my sentence.

"I- I followed you here, I'm your dog after all." He looks up to me with his almond eyes while sporting a smile

"D- Dog?" I couldn't believe my ears; did Daisuke really just call himself a dog?

Reflecting back, I do treat him rather harshly at times, especially when he first became my unwilling servant last year.

* * *

"_H- here Saiyaka-san." He happily hands me a drink I sent him to get for me from the vending machine. I graciously accept it and take a sip, only to spit it right back at him._

"_Why did you bring me a soda?! Do I look like I want to be covered in pimples? Go bring me something else! And use YOUR money this time."_

_In a fit of rage I throw the can at him, its contents spilling all over him. He looks embarrassed and as if he wants to cry, but he doesn't. A slight smile tugs at my lips as I think about how humiliated he must be._

"_Yes ma'am!" He quickly runs off, my eyes revert back to my friends, who all give me the stink eye._

"_What?" _

"_Saiyaka, that was so harsh… how could you?"_

"_Yeah, he's just a kid…"_

"_Well, if he wasn't caught committing such vile acts, I wouldn't be treating him so badly."_

_Earlier in the year, after Daisuke became a first year here, I caught him trying to sexually harass a female student. I intervene and when the female student runs off, I promised not to report him to police unless he became my personal slave until I graduate from Yasogami. _

_It felt great to put a rapist in their place. I felt redeemed after my failure to save my mother from rapists just a year and a half prior to that incident. It was a good temporary fix to my regrets and inner demons._

"_And he's our age anyway! Don't you know he's been held back before?"_

"_Well, even so Saiyaka, you're treating him like he's not even a human."_

"_You know how I feel towards people like him, Jessica."_

_Jessica was a friend of mine since middle school, she moved all the way from America to attend school here. She had trouble understanding and learning Japanese, so the teacher asked me to tutor her. We've been friends ever since._

_Just then Daisuke runs back with another drink for me._

"_Here you go." He smiles, but anyone who isn't a complete idiot can tell he feels like complete garbage. _

_I hastily snatch it from him and open it. I take a small sip to make sure he didn't give me anything that would result in a repeat of what just occurred. My eyes snap to him and he winces, more than likely expecting another projectile of liquid launched at him._

"_This will do, now go do something with yourself. And DO NOT fix yourself up; let those stains be your reminder of your failure."_

"_Yes ma'am!" He bows then walks off and a snicker escapes my lips. Jessica hears and stands up._

"_Saiyaka how could you?!" She looks at me with tears threatening to fall down from her face before running after Daisuke. My other friends slowly get up and leave as well._

"_Whatever…"_

_Later that day, I saw Daisuke walking home from school from the council room; he looked so lifeless. Feeling accomplished for mentally breaking him, I go on with my day happily, not even putting up a fuss when the president gave me a bunch of crap._

* * *

"Yes, no matter how much you mistreat me I always come back lovingly. Isn't that what pets do?"

"T- That's not how I see you at all…" My voice is beginning to weaken and my knees start trembling.

Another voice interrupts us.

"Oh, bitch please!"

Rise, Daisuke, and I all turn to the source of the voice, the General. A cloud of black surrounds him and when it clears it's….. me standing there! When the other me opens her eyes her yellow, much like a shadow.

"Why try to hide how you really feel about him? You know he's a piece of shit just like those men who you failed to stop years ago!"

"Wh- What?"

Before I register what's going on the other me uses the whip she has in her hand to grab Daisuke and pull him over to her. He goes airborne, leaving a pool of blood around my feet, and falls next to her with a hard thud.

I just stare wide-eyed at her.

Rise tries to snap me out of my daze.

"Saiyaka, it's your shadow and she's got Ryuugu-san! You have to do something!"

I don't really register what Rise said, but what my shadow says is quite clear.

"You piece of trash! You have to suffer because I'm a failure!" Her deadly eyes focus on Daisuke as she tightens the grip of the whip around his neck. He lets out a choking noise, but he doesn't try to fight back.

Her eyes then snap to me, those evil golden eyes I remember from last year staring right back into my own.

"Stop…" I mutter weakly to her, hoping she would listen. She only smiles an evil toothy and tightens the whip around Daisuke's neck even more.

"Stop? But isn't this what you have been doing to him every single day?"

I'm too shocked and afraid to answer her. All I can do is look down to the ground.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you, bitch!" She barks, tightening the hold even more. Daisuke lets out a choked cry.

I flinch and clamp my eyes shut. I re-open them slowly and look over to her and Daisuke. He's trying desperately to breathe, but he still doesn't fight back…

Instead he's smiling, just like he does the other times I'm cruel towards him.

Rise calls out again, telling me to do something, but I ignore her.

"S- Saiya…ka-san.." Daisuke manages to say from across the room. My shadow shoots a deadly glare at him when he does.

"Did I fucking tell you to talk?! Stay quiet or snap your neck like a twig!"

Rise gasps aloud and I step towards the shadow. As I do, her grip tightens on the whip around Daisuke's neck.

My mind clears now at the sight of the danger. I understand now that my shadow is in front of me, but that shouldn't be possible…

"What are you even doing here?! I defeated you already, so why aren't you gone?!" I yell at the top of my lungs, I don't think I've ever yelled this loudly and angrily before.

"What? You mean when you LIED to me! To yourself?!" She laughs while she places her foot sturdily into Daisuke's back, pinning him to the floor while the whip holds his head upright. He still doesn't resist… he continues to smile.

Stop it… stop smiling like that… please.

"Shadows never stop being a part of you… I'll ALWAYS be around." She giggles haughtily.

"You… you…" I say, tears are beginning to form in my eyes.

"Saiyaka-san wait! Calm down!" Rise cries out.

"You….!" I mutter again.

"By you don't you mean I?" My shadow says mockingly towards me.

"Let him go!" I shout angrily, I ready my fingers and prepare to shoot at her.

"Oh how cliché…" My shadow mutters, "Need I remind you it won't take much to snap this bitch in two? Goodness the poor thing can already barely breathe." She tilts her head toward Daisuke, signaling me to look.

"This is the kind of pressure YOU put on him! You pretty much do the same thing to his mind like I'm doing to his neck!" She laughs maniacally, tightening the grip even more. She even lifts her foot up.

My eyes widen as I realize what's about to happen. Time seems to slow down and my eyes move to Daisuke, those lips of his still forming that damned smile. Guilt burns into me as I look at him. He begins to mouth something.

"_Saiyaka… thank you…."_

I shout out a long and drawn out, "NO!"

My shadow grins menacingly as she simultaneously stomps her foot down into Daisuke's back and yank her arms upward.

A loud cracking sound fills the room.

My eyes widen, those tears that were threatening to fall just plummet down my cheeks. Daisuke's eyes roll to the back of his head and his body goes limp. My shadow releases her grip from the whip and Daisuke's now dead body just falls to the floor.

"How could you!?" I scream at my shadow, the tears are still falling down my face.

"Yes, how could you, Saiyaka? You're a murderer now." She replies… Her voice is so chilling.

I roar loudly as I fire at her nonstop. My bullets hit her again and again and again.

When I stop I see that she's still standing; her eyes are downcast to the floor.

"You're not me!" I shout at her.

"Saiyaka why would you say that!?" Rise screams back at me.

My shadow snickers delightfully, "You're in for it now!"

The next thing I know changes herself into revealing Devil's bride themed outfit and her whip becomes dazzled with blood red diamonds.

I stare intently at her; my tarot card begins floating in front of me.

"Celeste, come forth!" As I thought, Celeste comes forward and I prepare to face this murderer.

Right before we begun however, a strange sounding voice fills the room.

"'The hell's going on in here?"

I turn around to meet a pair of red eyes.

"Don't tell me you were the one behind this mess! You're in serious trouble if you are!"

I recall back to Naoto's journal, she said that the older competitors in this terrible tournament were looking for a girl with red eyes and white hair. I suppose this would be that girl.

Either way… why is she scolding me?

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" I question her.

"I'm the Student Council President! How do you not know who I am?"

That… can't be right. The council president is a male. What planet does this girl live on?

"That's can't be, our president is male. I'm the Secretary so I know this as a 100% fact."

"What are you talkin' about? We don't have a Secretary in our student council."

"Look, I don't have time to explain. I've got to take care of her." I finally resign, signaling to my shadow, which's been unnaturally quiet since the self-proclaimed president walked in.


End file.
